Sunday, September 27, 2015

A lot of parents are tired of being told how technology is screwing up their kids.

Moms
and dads of the digital age are well aware of the growing competition
for their children's attention, and they're bombarded at each turn of
the page or click of the mouse with both cutting-edge ideas and newfound
worries for raising great kids.

But beneath the madness of modernity, the basics of raising a moral child haven't really changed.

Parents want their kids to achieve their goals and find
happiness, but Harvard researchers believe that doesn't have to come at
the expense of kindness and empathy. They say a few
tried-and-true strategies remain the best ways to mold your kids into the morally upstanding and goals-oriented humans you want them to be. Here are six practical tips:

1) Hang out with your kids.

This is, like, the foundation of it all. Spend regular time with your
kids, ask them open-ended questions about themselves, about the world
and how they see it, and actively listen to their responses. Not only
will you learn all sorts of things that make your child unique, you'll
also be demonstrating to them how to show care and concern for another
person.

2) If it matters, say it out loud.

According to the researchers, "Even though most parents and caretakers
say that their children being caring is a top priority, often children
aren't hearing that message." So be sure to say it with them. And so
they know it's something they need to keep up with, check in with
teachers, coaches, and others who work with your kids on how they're
doing with teamwork, collaboration, and being a generally nice person.

3) Show your child how to "work it out."

Walk them through decision-making processes that take into
consideration people who could be affected. For example, if your child
wants to quit a sport or other activity, encourage them to identify the
source of the problem and consider their commitment to the team. Then
help them figure out if quitting does, in fact, fix the problem.

4) Make helpfulness and gratitude routine.

The researchers write, "Studies show that people who engage in the
habit of expressing gratitude are more likely to be helpful, generous,
compassionate, and forgiving — and they're also more likely to be happy
and healthy." So it's good for parents to hold the line on chores,
asking kids to help their siblings, and giving thanks throughout the
day. And when it comes to rewarding "good" behavior, the researchers
recommend that parents "only praise uncommon acts of kindness."

5) Check your child's destructive emotions.

"The ability to care for others is overwhelmed by anger, shame,
envy, or other negative feelings," say the researchers. Helping kids
name and process those emotions, then guiding them toward safe conflict
resolution, will go a long way toward keeping them focused on being a
caring individual. It's also important to set clear and reasonable
boundaries that they'll understand are out of love and concern for their
safety.

6) Show your kids the bigger picture.

"Almost all children empathize with and care about a small circle of
families and friends," say the researchers. The trick is getting them to
care about people who are socially, culturally, and even geographically
outside their circles. You can do this by coaching them to be
good listeners, by encouraging them to put themselves in other people's
shoes, and by practicing empathy using teachable moments in news and
entertainment.

"Raising a caring, respectful, ethical child is and always has been hard
work. But it's something all of us can do. And no work is more
important or ultimately more rewarding."

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

To mark the world’s premier circular awards program, The Circulars, opening up entries for 2016, we take a look at the impact that a circular economy approach is already having on businesses.
Two
studies in recent weeks have put some hard figures to the economic
benefits that a shift to the circular economy could bring.

First up was an independent report commissioned
by resource management business Veolia and produced by Imperial College
London. It found that a combination of closing the loop on resource use
and moving to a service rather than product based economy has the
potential to add £29 billion to UK Gross Domestic Product over the next
decade.

Hot on the heels of this was the Growth Within report by
the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. It claims a pan-European shift to a
circular economy could create a net benefit of €1.8 trillion for
European economies by 2030.

These are compelling and timely
figures, as the European Commission considers its circular economy
strategy with the promise of presenting a new, more ambitious plan by
the end of the year. But there is already a huge up-swell in
ground-level innovation in this field being driven by large
corporations, and small and medium enterprises alike. Here’s a round-up
of 10 ways the approach is impacting on what they are doing.

1. Encouraging collaboration to drive innovation

Closed-loop
thinking and sustainable packaging are two targets that computer
manufacturer Dell has committed to and it is using collaboration to
drive innovation in both these areas. Dell has joined forces with bio-tech start-up,
Newlight Technologies to pilot the use of carbon-negative product
packaging and worked with original equipment manufacturer partner
Wistron GreenTech to reuse plastic from its consumer and
business-to-business recycling program and feed it back into its new IT
products.

2. Thinking counter-intuitively

Clothing company
Patagonia has made long-running efforts to counter over consumption and
its Worn Wear California-to-Boston road show that took place earlier
this year perfectly sums up this approach by building consumer knowledge
about the value of fixing broken goods. GreenBiz author Lauren Hepler
gives a first-hand account of Patagonia's vision for elevating the approach beyond the apparel sector.

3. Reverse logistics

Logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL is actively exploring new ways it can capitalise on reverse logistics,
one of the most important enablers in the transition to a circular
economy. With its global network reach, DHL is undoubtedly sensing an
opportunity to develop new models that can push forward more circular
flows of goods and materials.

4. Think users not consumers

Are
we moving back to people behaving more like users rather than
consumers? This is one of the trends emerging in the automobile and IT
sectors. In this interview with Kirstie McIntyre,
director of social and environmental responsibility at HP, explains how
the company is seeing service models for users becoming more frequent
and how that translates to product design.

5. Handing the creative process back to the consumer

Sustainable
footwear is a hotbed of innovation for many apparel and lifestyle
brands. But one enterprising start-up is looking to take this to the
next level. Lyf Shoes is looking to capture a slice of the market by handing the creative process back to the consumer and is working up a customized 3D-printing service for shoemaking.

6. An incentive for transforming workplaces

The
launch of the world’s first guide to creating an office using circular
principles promises to minimize waste and maximize the life of all
materials. The guide, which has been produced by a cross-industry
collaboration of nine organizations, launched in July and the authors
are now looking for a New Zealand office in need of refurbishment to
become the world’s first Circular Economy Model Office. They claim it is the first step in revolutionising the office refurbishment industry.

7. Using it for brand building

Elvis and Kresse
is an emerging brand in the luxury fashion market, selling belts,
wallets, handbags and rugs. It uses 15 different wastes, including
leather and old tea sacks to make its products and it’s an approach that
underscores its entire brand ethos - what's more it’s got plans to
build on this creativity.

8. Delivering social good

From a Mother to Another
aims to extend the lifespan of baby and children clothing by
redistributing high quality clothing that has been outgrown to
vulnerable families in the UK. Research by Hubbub UK discovered that
over £3,500 worth of children’s clothing goes to landfill per child
growing up. From a Mother to Another aimed to create a new circular
economy initiative based on such findings. The campaign is delivered by a partnership of the retailer JoJo Maman Bebe, the charity Barnardo’s and Hubbub UK.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Ánanda Márga Gurukula is an international educational network of
schools and institutes engaged in teaching, research and service. It
spans over fifty countries with over 1,000 kindergartens, primary
schools, secondary schools, colleges and children’s homes that have been
established over the past 50 years. It is based on the holistic
philosophy of Neohumanism which stands for ”the practice of love for all
creation including plants, animals and the inanimate world” as
propounded by philosopher-seer Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar. The education
imparted in Ánanda Márga Gurukula affiliated schools and institutions is
known as Neohumanist Education.

The Sanskrit word “Gurukula” has the following etymology: Gu:
darkness; ru: dispeller; kula: an institution. Gurukula is an
institution which helps students dispel the darkness of the mind and
leads to total emancipation of the individual and society at large.

The Gurukula system of education is the oldest on our planet, tracing
its roots back 10,000 years to the time of ancient civilisation and
dedicated to the highest ideals of all-round human development:
physical, mental and spiritual.

Today, Ánanda Márga Gurukula is a revival of that ancient tradition,
offering a blending of occidental analytical approach and oriental
synthetic knowledge. Gurukula is dedicated to innovative research and
human resource development for the betterment of people and the planet.

At Gurukula affiliated schools and institutes, all aspects of one’s
personality are developed utilising an integrated curriculum that
empowers the student to know oneself and develop the confidence and
empathy to utilise knowledge for serving the society. Intellectual
cognitive abilities are extended to include the development of
intuition, aesthetics and a futuristic and ecological perspective based
on universal outlook.

Vision

Ánanda Márga Gurukula is engaged in creating an international network
of Neohumanist schools and institutes to hasten the advent of a society
in which there is love, peace, understanding, inspiration, justice and
health for all beings.
Ánanda Márga Gurukula is also supporting the building of a global
network of eco-communities in over 120 countries. These projects range
from 5 acres to 1000 acres.
At its headquarters at Ánanda Nagar, West Bengal, India, Ánanda
Márga Gurukula is also engaged in building an educational township on a
525 square kilometre campus to bring about transformation of
individuals and the society at large.
The Sanskrit motto of Ánanda Márga Gurukula is “sá vidyá yá vimuktaye” meaning, “knowledge is that which liberates”.

Objectives

To serve humanity with Neohumanist spirit and to acquire knowledge for that purpose.